


Welcome To The Show

by AlxSteele



Series: Through The Looking Glass [16]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - This World Inverted (Shadowhunters TV), Angst, Camille still sucks, Developing Relationship, Drama, Episode: s01e10 This World Inverted, Fluff and Angst, Kinda, M/M, Malec, Raphael is determined, but i tried, jealous!alec, light almost smut, not actual smut, protective!Alec, return of that awkward pizza boy I wrote that one time who ruins the mood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-27
Updated: 2016-05-27
Packaged: 2018-07-10 12:35:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6985360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlxSteele/pseuds/AlxSteele
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in the AU-verse from This World Inverted: Alec and Magnus' relationship is sailing smoothly but what happens when Camille shows up...?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Welcome To The Show

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, to be honest, I wasn’t sure how to write Camille. I haven’t read the books that actually have Camille, so I don’t really know how she is in them. So I was going purely off the show and like, would she be eviler in the AU? Would she be nice? I DON’T KNOW. I had a lot of people request this and give me ideas of how she might act in the AU so thank you all for that! I love you guys, you are awesome. In the end, I wrote her a tad different than planned. And um, I agonized over this, hope it doesn’t show. ;)
> 
> Title from Welcome To The Show by Adam Lambert
> 
> P.s. laelipoo, I tried to write jealous somewhat smexy times with possessive Alec. Hope you enjoy. ;)

Magnus was humming to himself as he stepped out of the tiny, cramped storage room that sat in the back of his small store. While the front of the store was impeccably organized and looked amazing due to Isabelle’s help — which irritated Alec and amused Magnus — the backroom was a mess. Magnus had boxes of supplies and hundreds of potions and salves. Not to mention the more…er, sensitive things he sold. IE: the real magical potions downworlders bought.

The point being, it wasn’t unusual for Magnus to trip on his way out of the backroom with an arm full of potions. It was unusual, however, for him to catch himself only to look up and promptly drop everything he was holding.

Magnus stood still; he could feel the blood freezing in his veins. His face rearranged itself into a sneer without him noticing. His eyes gave him away though, wide and full of shock, not in a good way. His magic, unattended, was allowed to run amuck, sparks dancing along his fingers as he blinked, trying to get the world to rearrange itself in front of him.

She smirked, one pointy eyebrow slowly moving up her face as her eyes lit on Magnus’ sparking fingers. “Happy to see me?” Camille asked, striding forward from where she’d been leaning casually against the front door.

Magnus swallowed dryly. “Only if it’s opposite day,” he managed to croak out.

Camille grinned, letting out her carefully controlled, tinkling laugh. Magnus fought back a shiver; how he hated that sound.

As he snapped out of his stupor, he snapped his fingers and the shattered glass and spilled potions disappeared.

Camille stopped on the other side of the counter. Magnus tried to ignore her, moving around her to finish taking inventory of the store. Things were selling much faster than he’d thought and he really needed to spend more time making salves but he’d been…distracted recently. By Alec, as always. Not that Magnus was complaining.

No. The complaining only came from Magnus’ own scattered thoughts. The warlock was driving himself insane. One moment convinced he had to tell Alec the truth about what he was. The next, sure that it would scare him away for good. Which only ended up putting this unbearable space between them when they were together, even if Magnus was the only one to notice it.

This — her — was the last thing he needed to deal with on top of everything else.

When Camille just stood there, eyes trailing Magnus across the room, he finally sighed. “Kill any mundanes recently, Camille?”

Magnus didn’t turn around but he noticed her scornful laugh didn’t come right away, like she’d paused to consider the perfect response first. Camille stalked forward again — when Camille Belcourt walked there was no word to describe it besides stalking, eyes locked on her target like it was prey she was getting ready to eat. It was more than her vampire grace, came from years of perfecting the best way to scare people into following her, the best way to get mundanes to offer their selves to her. - Her fingers trailed across the glass shelves, inches away from knocking everything off them. Her eyes narrowed the closer she came.

She stopped scarcely an inch away from Magnus, her breath ghosting across his neck as he remained facing the shelf. She laughed once more, all part of her game, her routine. She held there for a tense minute before backing up and letting her arms fall to her sides.

“Actually, Magnus. I’ve changed.”

Magnus turned at that. Not because he believed her or found this particularly shocking, but because her voice had lost every bit of its edge so that she sounded absolutely nothing like the Camille he’d known a century ago. For the first time, Magnus took in her appearance; gone was the elegantly put together Camille with the fancy dresses and perfect makeup, hair smooth and silky. In her place, this Camille wore jeans and a frayed sweater, her hair in a messy bun, and, if Magnus wasn’t mistaken, not an ounce of makeup on her person.

Magnus narrowed his eyes at her, this had to be a trick of some kind. Camille was as evil as they came. Camille was the reason vampires were seen as evil soulless creatures. Camille would drain any mundane that came close enough to touch, and they always came to her.

It went even beyond that, Camille had wanted to run the downworld and, when the Nephilim were still a thing, before demons were cast out of their dimension, she’d wanted to destroy all the ones with angel blood. She’d wanted control over everything and everyone.

Now though, Magnus realized, she was hardly recognizable. The only reason he’d known her right away was her eyes: they were as steely as ever, as piercing as they’d been when he first met her.

Camille sighed when Magnus continued to glare at her. “Didn’t Raphael tell you? I gave up being head of the vampires? I didn’t just leave because he challenged me. I’ve been good, Magnus. You aren’t the only one who can change,” she added with a pointed look at his own jeans and sweater combination.

Magnus was bombarded by memories. By fancy waistcoats and fluffy dresses. By Camille, grinning in a manner that made it clear she was contemplating killing everyone in the room. Ragnor watching the two of them with a critical eye. Twirling around ballrooms. Moving from city to city, leaving a trail of bodies behind.

Magnus blinked and it all disappeared. “You can’t change, Camille,” he said unkindly.

He was shocked when she deflated, shoulders slumping. She shook her head, “Everyone can change, Magnus. I stay away from the downworld. I don’t feed on mundanes…”

Her eyes locked with his, they were still standing in the corner of the store, closer than comfortable. She licked her lips and looked away. When she talked, some of the old viciousness was back in her tone. “You broke my heart, Magnus,” she said before shrugging. She turned and made a show of studying the products on the shelves.

“People change, Magnus. Look at you.”

When she whipped around, Magnus was frozen in place from her narrowed gaze, running up and down again. Her mask came back in place and she looked more like the Camille he remembered, her voice getting higher and surer. “Raphael told me about him, your little…boy toy. Had to come see it for myself.”

Magnus sighed, abandoning all pretense of actually getting work done and moving to flip his open sign to closed. “I thought we were over this, Camille?”

“Oh, we are. Just catching up,” she smirked, bringing back her patented evil grin.

Magnus debated just leaving or trying to kick her out but, despite her claims to having changed, Magnus knew there was still no way to avoid the vampire if she wanted to talk. Camille was used to getting every little thing she wanted and she wouldn’t rest until she’d gotten out whatever she’d come to say or do. Better to just get it over with.

“Relax,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I just came to catch up. Raphael mentioned something about you coming to your senses and starting to use magic again… I was intrigued.” As she talked, she stalked forward once more, pausing on the other side of the counter and leaning forward to rest her elbows on it, head on her hands, blinking up at Magnus.

“I mean…this is far different from the Magnus Bane I remember. First you were High Warlock Magnus, wildly in love with me – don’t deny it,” she added, glaring. “Then you got all…” she waved her hands around in a wild gesture Magnus wasn’t sure what was supposed to mean. “ _Mundane._ Remember when I came to you, Magnus? You _broke_ my _heart_ ,” she empathized the words, “and I still came to you after you stopped using magic: after you stopped feeling all your stupid pesky human emotions. I told you not too, life is nothing without emotion… You didn’t listen to me and now… Are you really in love with some _mundane?”_

Magnus didn’t reply, instead, he studied Camille. She was every bit as prickly as she’d always been but there was real emotion in her voice. Magnus could see past the hard look in her eyes and her silky smooth voice, was Camille jealous? Maybe even hurt? Magnus frowned.

Once upon a time, when he was wilder than he was now, when he was powerful but still his responsible self, he’d gotten tangled up with Camille and others. He’d even thought, for a short time, that he loved her. Then he saw her for what she was, her evil self and he broke up with her. She’d never seemed to actually take it hard however. Even when she had shown up, trying to convince him not to let his magic and emotions fade. It was simply something that happened naturally though, when you were immortal. Magnus had simply fought it before letting go.

“Tell me about him,” Camille said suddenly, desperately, her eyes sparkling in a way that had Magnus on edge. “Tell me what some mundane has, that I don’t.”

Magnus shook his head. He wasn’t doing this. It’d been a long time since he’d moved on from Camille and he wasn’t going to let her get her fingers into this. Camille destroyed everything she touched, no matter what. Even if she claimed to have changed, Magnus had cut ties with her long ago.

“I have work to do, maybe you should leave,” he finally said, happy when his voice came out as stern as he wanted it too.

Hurt flashed through the vampire’s cold gaze as she stood up straight. Tilting her head, “Very well, Magnus, my darling. Whatever you say.”

Magnus didn’t breathe fully until the door shut behind her. He checked the time, it was late, the sun having set long ago. Just another hour, he thought. One more hour and he’d be back at the loft, snuggling with Alec, eating take-out and talking about everything and nothing.

With that thought in mind, Magnus put the whole Camille episode that left him feeling unsettled, out of his mind.

***

“Magnus?” Alec called out, walking into the loft through the, always unlocked, front door a few minutes early. He wasn’t sure when Magnus was off work but assumed the unlocked door meant he was home already.

Alec closed the door behind him, setting his wallet and phone on the small table just in the door as he pulled his jacket off and hung it on the coat rack. The lights were off, so he flipped them on, frowning. Maybe Magnus wasn’t home yet and had simply forgotten to lock the door. Alec smirked a little to himself, thinking that was something Magnus would do.

The sound of someone clearing their throat had Alec jumping three feet in the air, only just managing to catch himself as he started to fall backward towards the door.

His heart jackrabbited in his chest as he quickly looked up, eyes drawn to a slender woman who was reclining across one of the fluffy chairs in the living room.

Alec quickly glanced around the rest of the room, making sure no one else was there before managing to breathe out harshly, determining that the small woman probably wasn’t a threat. Then again, he thought, taking an uneasy step into the loft, someone might think the same thing of Izzy and Alec knew from personal experience that _that_ would be a mistake.

“Who are you? Is Magnus here?” Alec asked carefully, stopping near the pillar that came up in the middle of the room.

The woman grinned slowly, not showing her teeth. She got to her feet. She was fairly short, but everyone seemed short to Alec, with long dark hair hanging down her back, dressed in a small black dress.

“No darling boy,” — Alec frowned at the term as she slowly stalked towards him. — “Magnus isn’t home yet. I’m…an old friend,” she said in a way that was clearly supposed to mean an old “more than a friend”.

Alec frowned, “What are you doing here?”

The woman stopped a few feet away from him, a predatory smile curling her lips, eyes shining darkly. “Hmm? Oh, just…catching up with Magnus. We haven’t seen each other in…oh I don’t know; it feels like decades. Maybe even a century.”

Alec tilted his head to the side and the woman laughed, delighted by something.

“You don’t know anything, do you? You poor, sweet boy.”

She took another step closer, gliding across the floor, her hand raised like she was going to pat his cheek. Alec was growing very uncomfortable but refused to show it, standing his ground. The woman threw her head back in a laugh as Alec met her gaze. When she’d finished, she extended one elegant hand. “Excuse my poor manners, beautiful. Camille Belcourt.”

Alec stared at the offered hand for a moment, something was tickling the back of his mind, something about the woman seemed off… He couldn’t tell what. He stared at her and couldn’t figure out anything more, he couldn’t even guess at her age, something about her telling him that even though she looked like she was at most in her late twenties, she was much older than that. But that was crazy, Alec thought, finally extending his own hand. Her grip was firm but her skin so cold.

“Alec Lightwood,” he finally said, eyes narrowed on her.

She made a humming sound, letting go of his hand before gliding back off to the other side of the room where she poured herself a drink. “Are you even old enough to drink?” she called back over her shoulder.

Alec bristled, biting out, “Yes. But no thanks.”

She hummed again. When she turned around, she had a wine glass filled nearly to the brim and made a show of drinking it all down at once. Then she smiled slightly. “So…Alec, short for Alexander?”

Alec nodded slowly, sizing her up. He felt strange here, talking to this woman. He felt like she was winning at a game he hadn’t realized they were playing. “So you and Magnus are—”

“Old friends,” she grinned, pouring more blood red wine. “ _Very_ old.”

“You dated?” Alec asked, abruptly bypassing her games.

When Camille laughed it was a high tinkling sound and Alec was sure that if it was just one note higher it would shatter the glass in her hand. “Are we going to do some kind of…jealousy, alpha male thing? Because I only came to chat, handsome.”

Alec eyed her silently as she moved back to the chair she’d been sitting in when he came in. Alec glanced at the clock, wondering when Magnus would show up.

Camille sighed, bringing his gaze back to her. “But, if you must know,” she said, staring at him before nodding towards the couch. Alec debated staying standing but, he had to admit, he didn’t like the way she was making herself so comfortable in Magnus’ loft. Alec should be comfortable here, not her. Usually, he was, but something about Camille…

Alec shook his head, sitting down on the edge of the couch.

“It’s a long, torrid story, I’m afraid. I suppose I could just give you the highlights.”

Alec had broken up with enough guys in the past to recognize the bitter expression Camille was trying so hard to hide. It was the same one aimed at any number of Alec’s casual flings by Alec’s previous casual flings. It didn’t faze him. But…he had to admit, he was curious. He hadn’t met many people from Magnus’ past and the ones he had — Catarina, Raphael, Ragnor…— they didn’t talk about their past much.

Camille seemed resigned when she realized it was going to take more than the threat of a torrid story to make Alec worry.

Camille drew in a deep, dramatic breath, making herself look bigger somehow, more important. "You see, lovely boy, Magnus broke my heart."

Alec waited a beat. Two. Raised his eyebrow and stared at the dark-haired woman who slowly started frowning. She stood suddenly, pacing around the room and somehow still looking elegant with long strides. She let her fingers roam across the back of the couch, the wall, the dining table, looking around very interested like.

“I’m sorry,” she said suddenly, coming to a stop. “I must seem like some bitter ex. The truth is, Magnus and I, we were friends long before anything else. We still consider each other such very good friends. I just got in town and, well, I wanted to meet the person who’s…captured Magnus’ attention. It’s not an easy thing to do, after all.”

Alec honestly didn’t know what to think of Camille, the whole situation just seemed so strange.

Camille stopped, turning to Alec and looking all kinds of sincere. Her voice was lower, missing the theatrical edge. “He’ll break your heart, you stupid boy. It’s not a question of if but when.”

Alec’s heart stopped.

“He doesn’t want to be in love; he doesn’t believe in it.”

Camille went still, tilting her head to the side before calling out, “Magnus my darling. Finally, we’ve been waiting for you.”

***

Magnus wished he could say he was surprised to find Camille at the loft with Alexander, but he would be a fool to have expected anything else.

Camille was facing out the windows on the opposite side of the loft, Alec sitting on the couch. When Camille called out, Alec glanced over before rising to his feet. Magnus could read the confusion and relief on his face.

Magnus was internally panicking if he was being honest. He didn’t know how to play this. Knew Camille would be Camille, would try, ever so gracefully, to drive them apart. Not because she still loved Magnus, no matter how much she said she’d changed, Camille still first and foremost wanted to cause chaos, leaving things shattered and broken in her wake.

“Camille, this is a surprise,” Magnus said softly. He met Alec’s curious gaze and glanced away quickly.

“Don’t mind me, I just wanted to meet your new…toy.”

Alec’s eyes narrowed and he turned a glare towards Camille, taking a measured step closer to Magnus. Magnus’ heart skipped.

Camille whipped around then with a laugh. Magnus noticed her gaze narrowing just the littlest bit as Alec took Magnus’ hand and Magnus’ breath caught in his throat.

Her grin turned to a glare. “I’m kidding, of course. Too much drink probably. Jet lag. You know.” As if to prove her point, she went and poured herself a glass of rum. “So, Magnus, have told Alec about that time in Peru?” she smirked.

Magnus opened his mouth but she continued on, turning to Alec. “Has he ever talked to you in one of the millions of languages he knows? I always loved it when he did that. Oh. And has he told you about his job? So interesting, isn’t it? Have you met Raphael? Ragnor?” She kept throwing out names and questions, never pausing to let anyone answer. Clearly, in Magnus’ mind anyways, trying to light on something Alec didn’t know, something she could use.

Then she paused, looked down for a second. When she looked back up her grin was her most vicious. “Has he told his real age? Or how he doesn’t believe in true love?”

Magnus stepped forward then, angry, hands shaking. Camille threw the rest of her drink back, laughed once, high and piercing. “On that note; I should go.”

***

The sound of the door slamming echoed through the loft. Chairman Meow appeared along the fire escape, crawling through the window silently. He rubbed his head along Alec’s leg as he passed him, heading towards the kitchen and his food. Church came out of the back room with a growl, chasing the Chairman away from food.

Alec and Magnus both watched the cats for a moment. The feeling in the air could be described a nothing less than awkwardness. They’d had plenty of awkward moments the last three months but none quite on the same scale as this one.

Magnus turned to Alec suddenly, breaking the tension. Alec could see worry clouding his eyes as Magnus stared up at him.

Magnus seemed to search his eyes for a moment before speaking. “I’m sorry,” Magnus said, slumping slightly. “I didn’t know she’d come here. Camille is…”

“Crazy?” Alec supplied.

Magnus nodded solemnly and Alec couldn’t help but laugh softly. Reaching out for Magnus, and taking one of his hands in both of his. “Everyone has a crazy ex or two Magnus,” he said softly.

Magnus seemed to be searching his eyes for something. They stayed just like that for a few minutes before Magnus glanced away. He checked the time before muttering something about ordering a pizza and moving off to the kitchen.

Alec paced back and forth for a few minutes. Work had been hectic, he’d had one party canceled and another moved up two weeks; he’d been dealing with one problem after another and he’d expected to have a peaceful night.

His mind spun with Camille’s words. Some of them made more sense than others. He knew – well the rational side of him anyways – knew she was just a bitter ex. Saying things to confuse Alec, to make him question things… but what if he’d already been questioning things?

Then he was picturing the way she’d looked at Magnus, like she wanted to rush forward and pull him away from Alec. Like she wanted to destroy the both of them. Like she _wanted_ Magnus. And something reared up in Alec’s chest. She’d looked at Magnus like Magnus belonged to her, or would soon. But she was wrong, Alec thought. Magnus was his. He was Magnus’s…

“Pizza will be here soon,” Magnus said in a forced, cheerful voice that pulled at Alec’s heart.

Magnus strode into the room, clearly trying to act casual, but his eyes kept skipping over Alec’s face, worry etched in lines on his eyes, questions biting at his tongue.

Alec didn’t want to go a second longer with this hanging between them, he couldn’t. So he blurted out the first thing that came to him in a decidedly un-Alec Lightwood manner. “She said you broke her heart.”

Alec could hear Magnus’ breath catch in his throat. Saw his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. As things always seemed to get when he was around Magnus, Alec’s whole world faded until the other man was all he could see.

“Alec…” Magnus started and then trailed off. Alec waited quietly as Magnus got his thoughts together. Magnus let out a deep breath, looking up until his gaze was locked with Alec’s. “It was a long time ago, Alexander. I just — I mean… I know we — I just want you to know,” Magnus finally settled on, sounding as serious as Alec had ever heard him. Alec’s pulse was racing, he could feel it in his wrists, his neck. He didn’t know why he was so nervous right then; he was never nervous. Magnus took a step closer, like he needed to be sure Alec could hear him, was listening. Alec swallowed dryly, waiting.

Magnus met his gaze unflinchingly. “I never loved her, Alec. I never felt for her what she felt for me. What… I promise that I never felt for her or anyone…what I feel for you.”

Alec could barely breathe, waiting as Magnus crossed the last bit of distance between them before he licked his lips. When Alec talked it was just one word and it came out softer than intended, “Good.”

Alec practically growled before moving. He crashed against Magnus, fitting their lips together perfectly as they both stumbled a few steps backward. Magnus kissed him just as hungrily, stumbling back until he met the wall and Alec pressed in close to him.

They were breathing harshly, teeth clashing, tongues at war. Alec kept thinking of the way Camille had looked at Magnus and then he’d surge forward again, making Magnus bang his head lightly against the wall, laughing against Alec’s lips. Then Alec stopped thinking, forgot to be jealous, forgot to worry he was being too possessive as Magnus licked into his mouth, taking control of the kiss, forcing Alec to slow down.

Magnus broke away for just a second, breathing harshly against Alec’s skin and driving Alec crazy. One of Magnus’ legs was somehow wrapped around Alec’s waist, he couldn’t remember when that had happened. Alec’s hands were running up and down Magnus’ sides. Magnus was kissing the side of his neck lazily, hands gripping Alec’s arms. Magnus bit his neck, making him growl again. Alec tried to surge forward once more but Magnus was faster, moving his hands to either side of Alec’s head and keeping him in place as he licked and kissed and sucked over the spot he’d bitten.

Once he was happy, he let go of Alec and Alec moved back in, pressing a feverish kiss to his lips. Magnus melted into the kiss, relaxing completely in Alec’s grip as his hands wandered to the hem of Alec’s shirt and back up.

Alec slowed the kiss while never once breaking away. Magnus was driving him quite literally insane as he ran his hands up and down Alec’s stomach, above his shirt. Alec was about to move to take the shirt off himself, he was already straining painfully in his jeans and he really needed to feel more skin now, when Magnus suddenly moved his hands back to the bottom of Alec’s shirt, pulling it up.

Alec broke away from Magnus long enough to help him get his shirt all the way off. Then they were back to kissing. Alec couldn’t fully enjoy the sounds Magnus was making, far too focused on feelings. On every little spot of their skin that was touching. On Magnus’ lips. On Magnus’ hair in his fingers. On Magnus’ hand running up and down his bare back.

Alec brushed his lips across Magnus’ jaw as his hands finally moved to unbutton Magnus’ shirt, thankful he’d taken the sweater off while in the kitchen. Magnus moaned, a low sound in his throat and Alec grinned. He was at the last button when Magnus went stiff suddenly. Alec paused, heart loud in his chest. He leaned back to meet Magnus’ gaze. That’s when the doorbell rang.

***

Alec groaned, part amused, part disappointed as Magnus stammered, embarrassed as he buttoned his shirt back up, stumbling towards the door. Alec didn’t bother picking his shirt up from where Magnus had thrown it somewhere behind him, leaning casually against the wall, eyebrows raised when Magnus glared at him before pulling the door open.

Alec couldn’t help but snort when he saw the pizza boy, flashing back suddenly to the first time he’d tried to kiss Magnus and the same pizza boy had arrived and ruined the moment. He had to give the boy credit, he didn’t even bat an eyelash at Magnus’ clearly sex tousled hair — Alec was actually really proud of how thoroughly messed up Magnus’ hair was — or the fact that Magnus had missed like three buttons on his shirt.

Magnus paid him and then slammed the door. When he turned around, he grinned sheepishly, the look making Alec want to throw the pizza away and get back to what they’d been doing. Magnus held the pizza up, rolling his eyes.

Alec laughed, breaking the moment and walking forward to take the pizza from Magnus. He couldn’t help but tease Magnus however, calling out over his shoulder as he moved with the pizza to the couch. “Magnus, darling, do you have a thing for the pizza delivery boy?”

***

“You know Camille, she’s a… Well there are many words to describe her, none of them good,” Raphael said, shivering for effect. He stared at Magnus with nothing but sincerity though. He cared for Magnus, Magnus had done a lot for Raphael and he considered him a friend. But, sometimes it was hard not simply yell at the warlock for being so daft. “This is what she wanted, Magnus. This is why you left her all those years ago.”

Magnus shrugged, sipping the drink he’d been nursing for the past hour as he slowly told Raphael all about Camille’s little visit. Making sure to yell at him for not telling Magnus that she was in town. And conveniently leaving out the details of what had transpired after she left. Though he may as well have given the vampire details with how flustered he’d acted when Raphael asked what Alec’s reaction to the whole thing had been.

Magnus also left out he’s deepest worries. That Camille was right. That things would never work out between him and Alexander. That Alec had the same thoughts.

Magnus finally sighed, looking away, staring at the blacked out window of the hotel. “I left her because I didn’t believe immortals could have real love, Raphael.”

It was true, Magnus knew. At least, he’d left her because he knew they didn’t have real love and because he’d grown so weary, so bored. He didn’t want to continue with the pointlessness of that version of his life. Filled with people he didn’t really care about, afraid to find someone he really did. Magnus turned his thoughts off then, not wanting to imagine it anymore.

Raphael studied him thoughtfully, swallowing the rest of his fifth or sixth martini. “Yes. But did you really love her?”

Magnus swirled the liquid in his glass. “I thought I did.” For a time, he had thought he’d loved her, but he’d been ignoring the darker side to Camille then. Once he’d found out everything she’d been doing…

“And now?”

Magnus sighed, glaring at Raphael. Why did he persist? Magnus was too tired to fight though, he downed the rest of his glass, wincing at the centuries old scotch. “Now… With Alexander…”

Raphael stood up, nodding and grinning like he’d just won something. “Now,” he said, taking Magnus’s glass. “You know that this, with Alec, is real love. It’s not a question anymore.”

Magnus stood, glowering. “Yes, yes,” he shouted because he knew it was what Raphael wanted to hear. “Are you happy? I _love_ him. But so what? That doesn’t change anything.”

Raphael used his vampire speed to surprise Magnus, who was suddenly pressed to the wall with one finger digging into his chest. He could’ve fought Raphael but didn’t really see a point in it.

Raphael shook his head, looking disgusted for one moment before his eyes softened. His words however, remained cutting, “It changes everything, you foolish old warlock. You have to fight for love. You don’t just give it up. You tell him the truth and trust him to love you enough not to care. You _tell_ him, Magnus Bane.”

**Author's Note:**

> Side note, I contemplated adding a last sentence: well, fuck. But…um, it didn’t seem to fit Magnus as a character so…you know.
> 
> Well, there you have it, Camille. Hope it wasn’t too painful? Shall we start a countdown until the big moment? The one you’ve all been waiting for (well, I hope you’ve been waiting for it anyways…)… Where are my peeps that want the angst because it’s coming!?!?!  
> Come yell at me on [Tumblr](http://imawriteriwrite.tumblr.com/) if you feel like it! =)  
> Prompts for fluffy AU Malec are always open, I’m still collecting. Also, you know, just yell whatever you want to see and I will see what I can do! We are coming up the THINGS though and…the end is nigh? The end is almost close to being in sight? I don’t know. I’m winging this a little. 
> 
> Okay. Okay. Thank you for reading you lovely darling biscuits. <3<3<3


End file.
